As soon as the crucial na was ntioned, Luke unconsciously shifted in his seat. However, he kept his expression carefully composed.
A murderous glint rose on Kyren’s face, just like before.
"......If I tell you everything, can you help ?"
"Then let ask in return. Do you trust , Your Highness?"
"A skilled mage from Heighnern. If you’ve co to this country disguised as part of the delegation, then you must have your own motives too."
Kyren paused briefly, then continued.
"You’ve already caught on, haven’t you? That Welharun was trying to uncover classified information related to Heighnern. That’s why you're here now."
Kyren, too, was quick-witted. He seed to have roughly grasped what Luke’s purpose was and the suspicious activities he had been involved in.
"Yes. In that case, what is Your Highness’s goal?"
"I want... to stop my brother. I want to stop him from tornting the citizens of the Empire, from waging indiscriminate war, and I want to save this country."
At the word "war," Luke’s brow twitched slightly. And indiscriminate war, no less. It wasn’t a term that sat well with him. Luke did not hastily respond to anything Kyren said.
From what he had seen of Kyren’s behavior, it was clear the man was hiding sothing—and that he might be capable of offering important help in this case. Yet there still lingered a faint suspicion: could this all be a trap?
He couldn’t trust the man so easily. Perhaps noticing the hesitation, Kyren rubbed his face with both hands, his expression grave.
"Everything started when His Majesty the late Emperor’s chronic illness worsened, and my brother took over in his place."
Kyren began to speak slowly.
"My brother was a gentle person—so much so he’d never once raised his voice. He knew how to care for people. But he struggled under the weight of the heavy responsibilities that were suddenly thrust upon him."
Hys had a flawless character, but he lacked the innate qualities of a ruler. When the Emperor temporarily stepped down and left everything to Hys, he was crushed under the burden and lived each day simply trying to endure it.
"While he was acting as regent, the appearance of demonic beasts in Welharun increased. It wasn’t to the level of Heighnern, but we had competent {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} mages and a certain degree of military strength, so exterminating them wasn’t too difficult. But... the numbers didn’t decrease—in fact, they kept growing worse. That’s when things escalated."
The people lost their hos and lives to the unending swarms of monsters. They cried out in despair, and the endless cycle of chaos eventually gave strength to the voices questioning whether Hys had what it took to be emperor. Welharun soon fell into turmoil.
Listening to the story, Luke thought of Hys. The man Kyren described—gentle, helpless under pressure—seed like a completely different person from who Hys was now. He’d thought the rumors among the Empire’s people, about Hys being possessed by a ghost, were exaggerated—but hearing this, he realized it might not be such a far-fetched idea.
"It was then that soone approached my brother."
Luke’s eyes sharpened.
"A man leading an organization called Nox introduced his people as wandering mages with no place to go. He claid they wanted to help Welharun."
"And His Highness accepted the words of such shady people without hesitation?"
Kyren shook his head deeply, face lowered.
"My brother was cautious, of course... but they showed results with their actions."
Luke stroked his chin upon hearing that they had begun handling the troubleso monsters with ease. Was that truly a coincidence? The sudden appearance of monsters throughout Welharun, followed imdiately by Nox’s arrival and swift suppression?
"My brother ca to trust them from then on."
Luke wanted to ask how soone could so easily let unknown people get that close. But truthfully, he couldn’t say it was incomprehensible.
Soone forced to shoulder the burden of a nation without being prepared—crushed under pressure and unable to solve the country’s crisis—if soone ca along and offered to share the burden, even if it was a rotten rope, he might not have realized it at the ti.
Kyren said he had opposed them from the beginning. A man leading people with faces half-blackened—appearing out of nowhere and taking control of everything, securing a place at Hys’s side. They seed too dangerous.
"Then the matter with Heighnern too..."
"It was all those bastards’ doing!"
Kyren slamd his hand down on the table. A dull thud echoed through the room as his face twisted in pain. Brett, still guarding the door, wore a similarly anguished expression as his master.
If Welharun were to seize the treaty nation Heighnern, it would beco a dominant superpower across the continent. Kyren explained that Nox had whispered such ideas into Hys’s ears, goading him.
"Of course I opposed it. Even my brother didn’t seem pleased with the idea at first."
No matter how much Hys trusted Nox, he still maintained friendly relations with Heighnern and was aware of their powerful military strength. He knew they weren’t to be recklessly provoked.
"He told clearly... that he would reject their proposal. He told not to worry..."
Kyren’s voice cracked. The loss of composure didn’t suit the usually composed and refined prince.
His once-pale face had flushed red with rage.
"But then he suddenly changed."
"......He changed?"
"He not only approved the initial plans for the Heighnern invasion he’d said he’d reject—he acted like a completely different person. I may be a prince, but I’m also his younger brother. The sa blood flows in our veins. I could tell imdiately that he wasn’t the sa as before."
Kyren scoffed as he spoke, saying that Hys used to place a hand on his shoulder or hold his hand without hesitation—but at so point, those actions started to send chills down his spine.
Luke rembered the mont when Hys had grabbed his hand and that murderous expression had flickered across his face.
"I’m certain it was Nox. They must have done sothing to him. I believe they used magic to manipulate his mind."
"Mind control magic..."
Luke muttered quietly. It was a possibility he had considered himself. If the leader of Nox had taken control of Hys’s mind, everything Kyren had just said would make sense. And yet—sothing still felt off.
"Then why has the Welharun palace just stood by and done nothing?"
"Very few people in the palace even know Nox exists. My brother never made their presence public."
"In that case, couldn’t Your Highness have exposed them and set things right?"
At that question, Kyren’s expression suddenly darkened.
"......Luke, your right hand. Doesn’t it carry a magical aura different from your original power?"
Luke flinched and instinctively lowered his right hand under the table.
"What if I told you... that ominous magic is threatening my father’s life?"
"......What?"
It was such an unexpected statent that Luke couldn’t imdiately respond and simply let out a breath, questioning it again.
"That is the reason His Majesty the forr Emperor lies bedridden now."
It was Brett, silent until now, who finally spoke. Luke stared down at his own right hand.
"What are you saying...? I thought His Majesty suffered from a chronic illness..."
"It was, at first. But the illness he has is not one that should threaten his life or leave him bedridden."
"......Are you saying they injected impure magic into His Majesty’s body and deliberately worsened the illness?"
Even as he said it, Luke found it hard to believe. But Kyren remained silent, and Brett looked away, eyes downcast—aning it wasn’t a lie.
Kyren had sensed the strange magical energy within his father’s body. With his keen perception, he couldn’t help but realize it wasn’t normal—and that it must have been Nox’s doing.
"My brother is under their mind control. My father is teetering on the edge of death because of them. In such a situation, how could I possibly reveal everything to the ministers and confront them head-on?"
And at so point, Hys had even begun to restrict Kyren’s freedom—under the pretense of worrying for his health, he began subtly controlling Kyren’s movents and forbidding him from leaving the palace.
"Even in that situation, Welharun still welcod the delegation with open arms."
Kyren ran his hand through his hair in frustration. It was clear how much he resented the hypocrisy of inviting Heighnern’s delegation while secretly planning to betray the treaty nation.
"I honestly felt like telling them everything the mont I t them."
Kyren’s eyes blazed. In them were fury, sorrow, resentnt, helplessness. The eyes of soone who knew everything yet could do nothing—they were unbearably sad.
"But then... I saw that you were a mage. That you carried an ominous magical aura, like my father. That you acted as if you were trying to dig into what’s happening in the palace... and I felt a flicker of hope."
Kyren clasped both hands tightly, the veins on the back of his hands standing out from how hard he was gripping them.
"Luke, mage from Heighnern, please—help . Help put an end to this misfortune."
Kyren bowed his head. A prince of the Empire, lowering his head without hesitation. Brett was montarily surprised, then followed suit, bowing to Luke.
"All right."
And then ca the light, confident reply—without even a mont’s hesitation. The two exchanged startled glances at Luke’s unexpected response.
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